Lula to Visit Avibras as Brazil’s Rocket Maker Rises From Crisis
Defense
Key Facts
—The visit. President Lula is scheduled to visit Avibras Aeroco in Jacareí, São Paulo state, on Friday, alongside Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
—The comeback. The company formally resumed operations on May 4, 2026, after more than three years of financial crisis and a halt in production.
—The strike. A workers’ strike over unpaid wages ran roughly 1,280 days, one of the longest in Brazilian industry.
—The product. Avibras is known internationally for artillery and rocket systems such as the Astros.
—The status. It is designated a Strategic Defense Company, key to Brazil’s technological and industrial sovereignty.
A Brazilian defense champion left for dead is back in production, and the president is coming to see it. Lula is set to visit Avibras, the maker of the Astros rocket systems, as the storied arms company claws its way out of a near-fatal crisis.
Avibras, now operating as Avibras Aeroco, is one of Brazil’s most storied defense companies, famous for the Astros family of artillery rocket systems used at home and exported abroad.
A few years ago, its survival was in doubt. Now it is back on its feet, and drawing a presidential visit.
The Presidential Visit
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is scheduled to tour the company’s facilities in Jacareí, in São Paulo state, on Friday, joined by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.
It is Lula’s first visit to Avibras since the firm restarted production of missiles and rockets, a symbolic stamp of federal support for its revival.
Back From the Brink
The company officially resumed activities on May 4, 2026, after more than three years of financial crisis and a production paralysis that pushed it to the edge.
At the heart of the collapse was a workers’ strike that began in September 2022 over repeated delays in paying wages and lasted about 1,280 days, among the longest industrial strikes the country has seen.
Why Avibras Matters
Avibras holds the status of Strategic Defense Company, a designation reserved for firms whose technology is considered vital to national sovereignty and which unlocks government programs and defense contracts.
Its rockets and artillery systems are part of Brazil’s push to build and keep advanced military capability at home rather than rely on imports.
Why It Matters
The revival of a strategic arms maker fits a broader effort to rebuild Brazil’s defense industry and the skilled jobs that come with it.
For Lula, the visit is a chance to align his government with a homegrown industrial comeback in a politically sensitive, sovereignty-tinged sector.
How the Crisis Deepened
Behind the strike lay a deep financial collapse.
The company entered judicial recovery in 2022 with debts reported around R$800 million.
Around 900 workers downed tools from September that year.
Production lines fell silent for roughly four years.
Such a paralysis threatened decades of engineering know-how.
Brazil risked losing a pillar of its defence industrial base.
What Powers the Restart
A private injection of R$300 million unlocked the revival.
Fundo Brasil Crédito led the rescue funding package.
This allowed Avibras Aeroco to formally resume work in 2026.
Now the plant is building missiles, rockets and vehicles again.
Vice President Alckmin attends as industry minister, not just deputy.
Further military deliveries and a formal plant opening are planned this year.
Background: our argentinas economic crisis explained what it means for brazil and investors guide.
More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Lula visiting Avibras?
President Lula is scheduled to tour Avibras Aeroco in Jacareí on Friday, his first visit since the defense company restarted production of missiles and rockets, in a show of support for its revival.
What happened to Avibras?
The company endured more than three years of financial crisis and a production halt, including a workers’ strike over unpaid wages that lasted about 1,280 days. It formally resumed operations on May 4, 2026.
What does Avibras make?
Avibras is known for artillery and rocket systems such as the Astros, and holds the status of a Strategic Defense Company considered vital to Brazil’s industrial and technological sovereignty.
Sources
- Brasil 247 – Lula vai a Avibras pela primeira vez desde retomada da producao de misseis e foguetes
- OVALE / Sampi – Lula visita Avibras Aeroco em Jacareí apos retomada da producao
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Sources: Avibras Aeroco.
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